sarcophagus

[ sahr-kof-uh-guh s ]

/ sɑrˈkɒf ə gəs /

a stone coffin, especially one bearing sculpture, inscriptions, etc., often displayed as a monument.

Greek Antiquity. a kind of stone thought to consume the flesh of corpses, used for coffins.

Origin of sarcophagus

1595–1605; < Latin < Greek sarkophágos, noun use of the adj.; see sarcophagous

The principal use of sculpture by the early Christians was for the decoration of the sarcophagi, or burial-cases.

A History of Art for Beginners and Students |Clara Erskine Clement
The Greco-Roman style is represented by two sarcophagi which represent the story of Hippolytus.

Constantinople |William Holden Hutton
The sarcophagi are designedly much too small; there is hardly room for the figures on them.

Michelangelo |Romain Rolland
Among the sculptures two or three, sarcophagi may be specially noted.

The Shores of the Adriatic |F. Hamilton Jackson

Some of the most interesting examples of early Ionic painting are found on the sarcophagi of Clazomenae.

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 4 |Various

sarcophagus

/ (sɑːˈkɒfəɡəs) /

a stone or marble coffin or tomb, esp one bearing sculpture or inscriptions

C17: via Latin from Greek sarkophagos flesh-devouring; from the type of stone used, which was believed to destroy the flesh of corpses